We couldn’t find a sturdy and attractive elevated growing system — so we designed and built it ourselves! The result is a self-contained growing system that’s easy to tend and protects plants from chill, wind, heavy rain, insects, birds and animal pests — including deer, dogs and cats. We started with our popular, Vermont-made, 4' x 4' Elevated Cedar Raised Bed. Then we added a powder-coated steel frame and two-part cover that’s tall enough for big crops like tomatoes. This mini greenhouse's reinforced PVC outer cover protects plants from chill. Large zippered openings reveal the insect netting underneath and let you adjust ventilation. There are zippered openings in the netting, too, for easy access to plants and to allow pollinating insects to reach plants.

We purchased three of these elevated garden beds and used them for one season. Two of the beds are still in use. One bed warped and collapsed after one season of use. When this bed first shipped the support poles for shelter were bent, and the company replaced them. Great concept but because of the poor quality on delivery, and the wood collapsing after one season of use, I can't recommend this product.

Was this a gift?:

No

Bottom LineNo, I would not recommend this to a friend

Images shared by Colleen

Interior after collapse

Tags: Picture of Product

Merchant response: We're very sorry that this customer experienced problems with collapsing boards. We changed the floor boards since this was purchased in 2013 and we've been in contact with the customer to replace the original wood with our new cedar plank-style floor boards.

unit can handle considerable more soil than stated. Wish i had added teo-three more bags of mel's mix at the start. The cover is great but i wish it was easier to completely remove once the true summer temps arrive. I have to keep the frame on. Not really possible to harvest once everything gets going full tilt with cover as you lose access from two sides with the cover so i removed it for now. Plan on putting it back in september. it would be nice if the frame could also be easily removed but its permanent once attacthed.

Herbs, peppers and tomatoes growing fine. Already 2 ft high. Top attachment, if you get that, needs to be fastened using small clamps and not what they sent in the package. In case you need to remove the top fast for serious weather. What the manufacturer sent is not easy to undue. I got small clamps for $3 each x 4 and are working great.

For pollinating plants you should leave the sides all open. So you will get some insects. K

The foundation of this product is solid and isn't terribly difficult to assemble, even for one person. However, since I've put this together I have had to reassemble the top part several times. Every time it gets windy, the bars fall apart. Right now I have it holding together with duct tape. My veggies and herbs are sprouting in it, though, so I'd still recommend it--just be ready with the duct tape or glue!

Used to keep animals out of vegetables and keep my back and knees from pain. In Chicago the weather is so unpredictable with wind, temps dropping and rain, this device gets rid of all of that. Have great crops, tomatoes are outstanding in early May. Red beets, carrots, lettuce all come out much earlier in the season with no worries about Chicago weather. I've been looking for this type of gardening for years!

I bought two of these put on a cement porch to frame my front door and provide me a place to keep my more tender plants over the winter.

Overall I love the product. They are large, but fit nicely in my location. They were easy to put together in under half an hour (with a power drill for the screws), look nice and provide me with a lot of planting space. The covers work well, are easy to put on, and seem very durable for a flexible plastic product.

The only problems that I have with them are: planting depth and no water weep holes at the very bottom.

The planting depth is fine for probably 90% of things - vegetables and flowers it is more than adequate and plenty deep. But I have a dwarf citrus tree I was planning on putting in and the depth is a very close fit. I will probably be able to make it work, but I may have to mound the dirt a bit.

The weep hole problem will only be an issue for people placing the bed on a hard surface like my cement porch. There are drainage holes in the bottom of the planting bed itself, however once the water drains from the soil into the open area under the planting platform, there is no easy way for it to drain elsewhere. Not a problem if the planter is placed on dirt or sand, but not ideal for surfaces that don't drain *down*.

However, overall a very nice product. It should even be easy to replace individual boards if it is ever needed as the corners should last a good long while.

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We couldn't find a sturdy and attractive elevated growing system — so we designed and built it ourselves! The Elevated Grow Shelter is a self-contained growing system that's easy to tend and protects plants from chill, wind, heavy rain, insects, birds and animal pests — including deer, dogs and cats.

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